5.26.2009

I'm not going to lie...Hebrews is a tough read. For starters, we aren't sure who wrote Hebrews (I love Rob's joke that whoever she was, she was brilliant.) and to whom it was written. Add to that the fact that the author's thought pattern is very different than ours, written to a culture very different from ours, and we have a book that makes us scratch our heads.

Have you ever been really, really excited about something revolutionizing your life? Maybe it was the clapper - a simple way to turn the lights on and off. Maybe it was that juicer you saw on late night tv - the way to a healthier lifestyle. Maybe it was a new boss or a new employee. You thought they were the answer to all your problems. A couple years ago, a book was released and marketed as THE way to get your children to eat vegetables. It wasn't difficult...blend them up and substitute them for other ingredients in food. We bought the book, the vegetables and the new blender. We thought it would fix our kids unhealthy eating habits. Let's just say that it didn't live up the the hype. The food was terrible. There is this tendancy that many of us have to get pumped about a product, only to find ourselves losing faith as time goes on. Such is the case with those Hebrews was written for. It was as if they started off strong and found themselves losing faith as time passed. The author wants to remind them, and build a strong foundation of who Jesus really is and why He came. Jesus isn't just a good man with some good teachings. He is above all things and life is found in Him alone.

Hebrews is built around one central theme: the sufficiency and centrality of Jesus Christ. It appears that the audience is questioning if Christ is God's final plan. They are wondering if there is more to it. And so the author begins a long, thoughtful presentation of who Christ really is and why He is God's only plan. As you read, keep in mind that the point is to help us see Christ at the center...not only of creation, but also of God's plan for humanity. This first two chapters build a case for the supremecy of Jesus.